It Started With A Dare
by BrunetteBombshellBaby
Summary: (auverse 5th year - deathly hallows, see profile for oc bio) Sadie Harper and Neville Longbottom are complete opposites for the most part.. And until the train ride back to school, the two had silent but mutual crushes on one another. But when pesky friends dare them both to act on their feelings anything that can happen will happen. All that remains to be seen is how they fare.
1. Chapter 1

She grabbed her trunks and her zebra print backpack from the trunk of her father's 69 Mustang and slammed it shut behind her, eyes scanning the train station uneasily. She hated being late and they'd hit bad traffic on the drive in to the station. She was half afraid that her friends had all probably boarded the train back to Hogwarts already.

"Relax, lass." her father joked as her mother straightened her hair and sighed, hugged her, smiling. "If you get the least bit afraid and you want to come home, Sadie.. Just owl us." as her father nodded and said with a smile, "We'll get to you as soon as we can."

"I'll be fine you two.. We have this discussion every year on the first day back." Sadie said as she hugged her parents and breathed in one last huge breath of their cologne and perfume. Not that she wasn't thrilled to be going to Hogwarts, the exclusive magic school she attended, but she and her parents were extremely close.

After all, they hadn't had to be her parents and they'd taken her, raised her, loved her as their very own.

No, she had no clue who her real mother was, who her real father was, and she really hadn't ever worried all that much about it. And she probably ever wouldn't, as far as she was concerned. Why bother? Obviously, had her real parents wanted her, they'd have kept her.

"We'll see you at Christmas. Try not to get into too much trouble?" her mother and father said with teasing grins as she pouted a moment and then said "I suppose I could try." as she watched them driving away. Once she was satisfied they'd gone, she turned towards the station and slunk inside, eyes scanning the crowd for signs of any of her fellow Hufflepuff housemates or her other friends.

She'd just sighed and bit her lower lip, started to walk again when she walked straight into the back of a taller male. He turned to look at her and for a moment, she looked at him. "Sorry." Neville Longbottom muttered quietly as she smiled and shook her head, laughed it off and said calmly, "Not like you hurt me. Besides, I'm sort of the one who walked into you."

He nodded, studying her for a moment. She smiled and then after a few moments, she asked him quietly, " You're in Gryffindor, right?"

Neville nodded and she smiled as she said casually, "I thought you looked like one of the other students." making him nod. He asked quietly, "What about you?"

"Oh.. I'm in Hufflepuff." Sadie said as she twirled a caramel blondish brown strand of hair around her fingers, chewed her lower lip thoughtfully while looking up at him. "Do you have a name, or..." she asked, as he nodded and managed a barely audible "Neville Longbottom."

"Sadie Harper. It's.. It's nice to meet you, Neville." she said quietly as she caught sight of a friend of hers, waved at them. "I should get going." she muttered apologetically as she looked up at him a moment, smiled. Nodding, he said quietly, "I'll see you around school."

She skipped over to a large group of noisy and giggly girls around her own age (as tiny as she was Neville had it pegged as her being at least a 3rd year at best) talking animatedly, waving her hands a lot. He smiled a small smile and then made himself look away.

The Potters and the Weasleys in the world usually got all the pretty girls. Not blokes like him. She'd probably just made conversation to be nice just now.

Or she'd felt bad for him, everyone within earshot probably heard his grandmum chewing him out before she left the station. She did it a lot. He tried not to let it bother him.

But even as he dismissed her simple act of kindness as just that, he couldn't help but turn his head back in her direction, watch her and her friends gathered together in a large group still, but all bent in, whispering excitedly, obviously hiding something from the general sight of everyone else.

"Oi.. Harper! Longbottom's staring right at you, girl." one of her friends, Bridgette barked as she pivoted her head around just in time to catch herself getting lost in his gaze. She bit her lower lip and gave him a smile and wave before turning around.

"He's an older boy, they never go for girls like me." she muttered as her friend nudged her and shook her head saying bluntly, "And you're not going to do something about this huge crush on him this year either.. Are you?"

"Truthfully? I'd really rather not have him laughing his arse off at me." Sadie said as the girls groaned and her friend Kirby smirked and said with a hand on her hip and a mischevious grin, "Triple Dog Dare you.. This year, Sadie.. You have to find some way to let that boy know you've got it bad for him."

"Because he'll totally flip for me." Sadie joked as she sighed and then looked back over at him while he was occupied talking to his friends.

"You never know until you try.. Triple dog dare you. It's official, you cannot turn this dare down." her friend Kirby said as her other remaining friends nodded in agreement.

Neville felt intent staring and rubbed the back of his neck. He heard Seamus Finnigan chuckling and then felt Finnigan nudging him in the ribcage. He glared and rubbed his ribcage and then followed Seamus eyes.

"Wot? She was starin roight at yah, lad." Seamus teased as Dean studied Neville for a moment and said with a smirk, "Isn't she that girl you almost asked to the Yule Ball but you froze up and then ran off down the hallway before she turned round?"

Neville glared and nodded then said quietly, "Girls like that don't like boys like me."

"She was starin roight at yah, Longbottom." Seamus said as he chuckled and added, "Pretty lass."

"And?" Neville asked as he got the feeling his friends were up to something..

"We just think, mate, that if you like her, maybe you oughta tell her?" Dean asked, scratching his head as he looked up at the taller male. Neville shrugged and said quietly, "Won't matter.. She'll laugh her arse off."

"Won't know until yah try, lad." Seamus muttered as he watched Neville watching the giggling group of girls, mostly Hufflepuff, mostly younger girls. "She's only in 4th year, not like it's that far apart from yah, lad." Seamus insisted as Neville grumbled and said "We're going to be late." pointedly, nodding towars the train.

The girls ran past, he couldn't help but smile as he watched her shed the sandals she wore, run barefoot towards the secret platform entrance.

"I dare you, Longbottom.. This year, you have to do something about your whole crush on the girl." Dean said calmly as Seamus added "Double dare yah."

"Triple dare you." Dean said as Neville looked at them a moment, his hand in his hair, nervously biting his lip. "It's.. It's just not a good idea, okay?"

"If yah do somethin about 'er, I'll tell Lavvie I fancy 'er." Seamus said as he looked up at Neville, who for the moment still wasn't budging.


	2. Chapter 2

She scanned the crowded Great Hall before sliding into her seat, hiding her face, grumbling. Mornings weren't usually Sadie's thing and this morning she felt like death warmed over, having stayed up later than the norm the night before, playing hide and seek on the lawns with some first years.

Then she'd went to her friends usual 'girls night' thing, they'd basically camped out in the Hufflepuff commons room, eating marshmellows, talking about this year and the nerve of Dolores Umbridge thus far. The woman had only been there maybe a day tops and over half the student body was in unison, except the Slytherins of course, they were completely alright with her being there..

Suffice to say, Sadie currently was operating on maybe 3 hours of sleep tops. She stifled a yawn and grabbed a crescent roll from the basket in front of her, waving off her friend's cheerful good morning with a middle finger covertly sliding across the bridge of her nose.

Bridgitte leaned in and hissed cheekily, "Oi.. Longbottom's starin right over here at you again, Harper." as Sadie looked up and around, the crescent roll in her hands. She glared at her friend as she murmured "He was not."

"He was." her friends insisted as Sadie shook her head and muttered quietly, "Right.. and pigs fly."

The response she got from her friend was a sliver of bacon chunked carefully at her head as she glared and said through a mouth full of food, "Bacon counts, by the way. A pig just flew."

"Bacon does not count." Sadie argued as her friends laughed at her and a mug of coffee was shoved in front of her. "Drink that.. Going to need it today, we've got a full day of classes, remember?" as Sadie groaned and then muttered "Don't remind me. And that disgusting pink nightmare is still here I see."

"We're taking a pool.. She is the new DADA teacher, after all.. We all know how the DADA teachers fare around here." Kirby, another of her best friends said through a mouth full, snapping her fingers in front of Sadie's face when she saw that once again, Sadie was just sitting there, watching Neville.

"Remember your dare, Harper." Kirby said firmly as Sadie blinked and said "Huh? You weren't.. Serious.."

"As a heart attack, love." Kirby chirped as the annoyingly pink clad woman's voice cut through the other conversations, and she began to speak. "I'm half tuning her out."

"I'm totally tuning her out."

"I'm praying to go temporarily deaf." Sadie said as she slathered butter onto another crescent roll and took a huge bite, eyeing the woman in disinterest."Merlin... Does she ever shut the hell up, I wonder?" she muttered as she and her friends stood, excused themselves from their breakfast and the remainder of the speech Umbridge was apparently intent on making.

As they walked past the Gryffindor table, her eyes met Neville's and she winked, smiled at him while nodding. He blinked and coughed a minute, obviously shocked.

"What'd you do, Sadie, bloody hell?" her friend Kirby asked as Sadie shrugged and said quietly, "Just nodded my head and winked."

"Poor guy choked almost." Bridgitte muttered as Sadie turned around quickly, promptly smacked into a 7th year Hufflepuff male, who turned to give her a slight glare. When she turned around, however, Neville was in deep conversation with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. "Oh he did not." Sadie murmured as she followed her friends out of the Great Hall.

At the Gryffindor table, Seamus clapped his friend on the back and then shoved water at him. "Drink it lad." he snickered as Neville glared at him, unamused. "She had to have been joking just now."

"No, mate, she winked. Roight at yah." Seamus repeated for the 5th time as Dean elbowed Seamus, nodded his head in the girls direction, whispered something.

Seamus leaned in and smirking said "And yah just caused her to walk roight smack into that tall lad." nodding in the direction of Sadie's now retreating back. "I did not." Neville mumbled to himself as he shoveled food into his mouth, focusing solely on eating.

Had she winked at him? Maybe she'd had something in her eye just now.. That had to be it. Girls just didn't wink at him for no good reason.

The males excused themselves and fell in behind Sadie and her friends, her other friend Lavender as they skipped down the hallway.

Sadie rolled her eyes as Lavender Brown skipped up and asked where they were headed off to. "We're going to change, duh.. I don't think that .. The thing in pink would take kindly to me coming to class in my pajamas." Sadie explained as Lavender promptly began talking about her long running crush on Seamus Finnigan, how she wanted to date another Gryffindor just to see if she'd finally get his attention.

Sadie grumbled and said calmly, "You could just tell him, you know.. Pretty sure he already likes you, he's always staring."

"Or I could date Ron Weasley.." Lavendar countered as Sadie grumbled and then said "You make about as much sense as wearing shorts in the dead of winter, Brown." while tugging at her hair, annoyed with the conversation. Lavender pouted a moment and then asked cheekily, "Assuming your mood would indicate you've done nothing about your crush on Longbottom."

Kirby burst into laughter and Sadie crossed her arms, pouting at her group of friends. "I'm ignoring all of you. And you're all getting the silent treatment.. He's a fucking 5th year.. I'm a 4th year.. He'll never go for the likes of me.. Besides, I thought he and Ginny were together?"

"Umm, no.. He just asked her to the Yule Ball." Kirby corrected as Sadie shrugged and sighing dramatically said "Won't matter anyway, I promise you all, Neville Longbottom does not, nor will he ever, like me the way I like him. Fairytales are just that, girls.. Fairytales."

"I thought Puffs were happy?" Kirby joked as Brigitte nodded and said "Well, we all know our Sadie by now.. She'd stick her head in the sand or die even before she gave a boy a chance to get close to her."

Lavender snickered and then averted her gaze to Sadie who rolled her eyes and said stiffly, "I just... I don't get why it has to be an issue?" in a slightly pleading tone of voice. She hated it when her friends got all nosy and curious. As far as the crushes thing, she wasn't sure why it mattered if she ever told Neville or not.

Nor did she know why exactly she had such a strong aversion to dating anyone.. She'd had one boyfriend, to date.. If you counted the ones you met at parks..She was just a little slow with the male species. Surely that wasn't an abnormal thing..

She'd much rather spend her time getting into several funny and awkward misadventures with her close girl friends in all honesty.

From behind them, they heard the hushed tones of 3 boys talking and Sadie turned around a little, bit her lower lip as she winked at Neville again.

"She did it again! She is winking at you, mate!" Dean hissed as Seamus groaned and shook his head, glaring at his friend before asking Neville, "Are yah bloody dense? That's twice today."

"She has something in her eye?" Neville suggested weakly as Seamus and Dean both grumbled and shook their heads. Neville hadn't ever really been much in the way of a ladies man. And he'd had a crush on Sadie Harper since about Christmas of the year before. He'd wanted to ask her to the Yule Ball, but by the time he got even a little nerve, an older Ravenclaw had asked.. And she'd politely declined.

Neville never actually figured out why in all honesty, but he hadn't even seen her at the Yule Ball.

"She's not winking at me."

"She is, Longbottom." Dean insisted as the males edged into their own dorms, getting ready for class. Neville stared into the mirror in their room a few moments and then said quietly, "Suppose I take your dare.. All I have to do is tell her, right?"

Seamus and Dean exchanged shocked looks and Neville asked again, "Right?"

"Basically, yeah, lad." Seamus said as Dean asked, "You're going to do it?"

Neville shrugged and straightened his tie, walked out of the dorms. He had to think about it, this was a huge thing for him. He just had this feeling that like all the other girls he'd ever liked, this wouldn't be any different. She'd laugh, he'd be humiliated, that'd be the end of it.

Parts of him wanted to say he'd take the dare just to prove himself right and his friends wrong. But parts of him were a little curious about her approaching him on the train the day before, and winking at him supposedly, just now.

But he dared not get his hopes up, of course.


	3. Chapter 3

She lingered outside the classroom door, waiting on Neville to emerge. She hadn't been intending on doing this, but since her friends seemed hell bent on believing that she needed to tell him how she felt about him, at least work towards that by the end of the term, she decided that if it made them stop their nagging her, and she finally got it off her chest, what could the harm be?

This, of course, went without saying, she figured he'd ultimately wind up laughing his ass off at her or something equally embarassing, or he'd tell her she was too young for him. But she figured that just having it off her chest, if he did reject her, then at the very least, maybe it'd get out of her system.

A sigh escaped her lips as she scanned the crowd, suddenly second guessing this entire stupid plan she'd developed. It certainly seemed pathetic and truth be told more than a little desperate. But the way she felt about Neville, wasn't the way she'd felt for any other boy, not that there had been many, of course..

This time, she couldn't just forget the way she felt, and she really didn't know if she wanted to if she had to be perfectly honest about it.

Normally, approaching a guy, with her, was easy. Almost too easy. But for some reason, whenever she was around the older Gryffindor male, her throat closed up and she couldn't think straight. This baffled her, it shocked her and she didnt know how to proceed with things as a result.

After all, she barely knew him.

The teacher dismissed Neville's class and she bit her lower lip and muttered "If he doesn't see right through this whole charade, it'll be a miracle." to herself while scanning the crowd of Gryffindors and Slytherins who filed past. She finally spotted him, talking to Harry Potter, they were in an intense and what appeared to be a very heated and private discussion.

For a moment, she wondered if she were absolutely sure she could do this, then she remembered that if she didn't, she'd spend the rest of her life wondering what might have happened if she'd taken her friends friendly little dare and told him how she felt.

And she wasn't the kind of girl who liked leaving anything unsaid, either.. And she had felt this way, about him, for a few years now.

Neville caught sight of the 4th year Hufflepuff brunette he had a crush on and then raised a brow curiously. Lately, it seemed as if she seemed to just show up wherever he happened to be and normally, that wasn't a good thing. Not where he was concerned, not with the way girls tended to do him, or had done him in the past.

So the tall and quiet male had to wonder what her motives for showing up around him often were.

Or if it were just some bizarre coincidence.

She'd been just about to walk away.. Or run, rather.. But then Harry noticed her and gave a polite nod, their conversation came to a hush and Neville looked at her. She stood frozen like a deer in headlights as she managed a confident smile and said quietly, "I was looking for you, actually."

She hated this plan she had, but she knew that if she wanted to tell him the major thing she had to tell him, about her feelings, it might benefit her to get closer to him before just springing it on him. She didn't have as much confidence as she pretended to, and she didn't want to just blurt it out.

She also wanted to get to know him a little better.

Neville quirked his brow at her, eyeing her warily. If she were looking for him, she had to have some alterior motive or something, he was almost 99 percent certain now. Girls like her didn't really notice him unless they wanted something.

"Why?" he asked as Harry hastily said his goodbyes, leaving the two of them alone. He knew how Neville felt about the girl in question, and he knew that Neville wouldn't ever talk to the girl if he stuck around.

She looked at him and bit her lip as she thought to herself _I cannot believe I'm about to do this.. this is just like those other girls, who dumb it down.. okay, so it's not, but it's not entirely not like that either.. because i'm good at herbology, but damn it, I can't even talk to him without my throat closing up and only a series of disturbing and really embarassing squeaks coming out! I have to do something!'_

"I, umm.. I hate to say this, actually.. But I sort of zoned out during the lesson in Herbology earlier and my friends said you were the guy to talk to?" she asked, looking up at him, biting her lower lip as she managed a sheepish smile.

It wasn't entirely a lie so she felt infinitely better about this 'charade'.. At least if she used this to get her foot in the door, eventually, she could work up her nerve to telling him how she felt and deal with the fallout from there.

Neville looked at her, a little more than curious now. She was most definitely up to something.. He knew for a fact that her own marks in Herbology were maybe two below his. She was every bit as good at the subject as he was.. And zoning out wasn't like her, not that he knew of at least. The whole thing didn't make any sense.

His stomach churned nervously as he stated quietly, "It wasn't that hard, Sadie." while holding her gaze. She sighed and bit her lower lip as she started to turn and walk away. He stopped her and said quietly, "But if you really need help.."

"If I didn't, Neville, I wouldn't have asked." Sadie muttered as she looked at him and bit her lower lip nervously. She knew he was wary of her, she knew exactly why too.. Other girls in the past hadn't been so nice to him and he'd been used more than a few times by a female student who just wanted to pass, just wanted someone to do her work for her.

This wasn't one of those times and it hurt her that people did this to him.

"Sorry, it's just.." he started, his voice trailing off as he raked his hand through his hair and asked quietly, "Do you have this period free? I do.. I can help you now."

She nodded and said with a small smile, "I'm sorry if I bothered you, it's just.. I didn't want someone laughing if I asked them.. And I didn't want to upset Professor Sprout." as he nodded and asked "Do you want to go outside, or to the library?"

"It's pretty out.. If you want, we can go on the lawns? I really hate being cooped indoors when it's so warm and sunny out." Sadie said as they walked down the corridor and out into the courtyard of the castle. Once they'd found a bench free, they sat down on it and Neville asked her quietly, "Is this some sort of prank?"

She looked at him and shook her head, wishing people weren't so damn mean to him as she answered quietly, "No, it's not a prank. I have no alterior motive."

She hated saying that when she actually did but it was a good one, but something told her that if she told him now, everything she felt, he'd really think she was putting one over on him and he'd write her off before she even got a chance to prove she wasn't like the other girls and she really did genuinely like him.

Neville studied her a moment as she dug around in her bag, pulled out her book and parchment, her quill and looked at him expectantly. He had mixed feelings right now, and he didn't like it. He got the distinct feeling she was up to something, but he got the feeling that it might not be something bad, or what he feared it was.

Opening the book, he started to read off the facts about the plant they'd learnt about that day and he noticed she'd scooted a little closer. He stiffened then kicked himself as soon as he'd done it. Being around her was sort of playing hell on him however, he couldn't honestly help the fact that he had done that just now.

She bit her lower lip as she looked up at him and smiling softly said "Thanks.. I didn't want to ask at first, I mean I see how some of the other girls do things to you and.. Nevermind.." she looked back down at her book, biting her lip again.

"I don't mind helping people. Just don't get why girls have to pretend to like me to get me to help them." Neville said as he looked at her a little. Maybe she wasn't like them all. Maybe she really had needed help.

He still got the feeling she was up to something, however, so for now, he'd be wary.


	4. Chapter 4

"So she came to yah for help? In the subject she's best at?" Seamus asked as Neville ate his food, stared intently at the brunette Hufflepuff who currently sat in the middle of her group of friends, the group of them whispering back and forth about something that was apparently intense, as Sadie he noticed looked upset.

"She did." Neville said as he swallowed, washing down his food, looking at his Irish friend as he said "She's probably just using me." dismissively. Seamus smacked him in the forehead and said "Yer a dense one lad." as Dean spoke up and said casually, "I might have overheard her friends talking earlier.. Something about how it's so adorable how you make her so shy. Neville, if that's not a sign the girl likes you, I don't know what is, really." as he sipped his water, looked at Neville who raised a brow, laughed a moment and then said dryly, "Right because it bloody happens to me all the time." as his friends collectively groaned in irritation.

"What? It's true, I mean name the last time a girl actually liked me when she approached me for whatever reason." Neville said as he dropped his gaze when he noticed Sadie looking up, looking around. He swore as he bit his lower lip and it actually brought forth a slightly small yet also annoying wave of pain.

Sadie rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged it off, then her friend Kirby elbowed her and said aloud, "He's looking right over here at you."

"Oh he is not. I told you guys already, he couldn't get away from me fast enough when he finished helping me with the assignment in Herbology earlier. That alone should be proof positive that I need to just give up. He's not interested in me. Hell, to be honest, girls, I actually think that for whatever reason, he dislikes me." she mumbled, slightly disappointed by this realization.

Any hope she'd actually had of telling him how she felt, well.. They were getting smaller and smaller and she was now trying to come up with a way to back out of the dare her friends issued her and constantly nagged her about accomplishing. Because if earlier today were anything to go by, Neville Longbottom actually disliked her. Or at the very least, he was annoyed by her.

"He stares at you all the time, Sadie. In what world does your theory make any sense.. I mean guys don't stare unless they like what they're looking at. Don't give up, damn it. You're a fighter, you're stubborn. You can tell him.. And you're gonna."

"No, girls, I'm not." Sadie said bluntly as she buttered a piece of toast, took a forceful bite, looked at her friends in determination. Nope, she was giving up, she was totally one hundred percent done at this point. If he didn't like her, if she annoyed him even when she was trying to befriend him, she just wasn't going to stick around and make an idiot of herself further.

There really wasn't any point in it, in her opinion.

"He's staring again." Brigitte pointed out as Sadie gave her a dirty look, swore a little. Sadie looked up just in time to catch Neville eyeing her intently, a curious look in his green eyes. She bit her lower lip and said casually, "It means nothing. He just happened to be looking when I looked up. Maybe he's looking at one of the girls sitting near us.. Or at Ginny, I mean she is whispering to Luna back and forth." Sadie insisted as her friends all groaned and she finished off her toast and then stretched, said casually, "Going for a jog or something."

"In other words, Sadie, you're retreating. I don't get it, why in the name of Merlin do you always do this where he's concerned.. I mean I've seen you flash a random boy before on a dare. I've seen you flirt with pretty much any other guy on the planet.. But not him. Are you scared of him or something?" Kirby asked as Sadie muttered stiffly, "You wouldn't understand it, okay? I mean it makes no sense to me even. Look, I'm going for a jog. To think.. Alone."

Her friends nodded and watched her walking out of the Great Hall before looking at one another and saying solemnly, "If she's going to give up then, we'll just have to take matters into our own hands.. I mean Dean and Seamus did tell us that whole thing earlier for a reason.."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Kirby muttered as she smirked and stood, made her way over to the Gryffindor table. She knew Neville was at the opposite end now, talking to Harry, so she said to Dean and Seamus quickly, "Okay, alright.. So you two are right.. They are stubborn, and anything is better than watching the two of them wallow in their whole angst fest. We're in."

Seamus and Dean high fived and the girls added quickly, "He better not hurt her though.. She's been hurt a lot by boys before, it's sort of why we have such a hard time getting her to trust her instincts about Neville now." before disappearing out of the Great Hall.

"So, looks loike we've got help, yeah?" Seamus mused as Dean smirked and said "This is gonna be fun. Guy should be happy, really. Bugs me the way he's always down about himself. Might do him some good."

"Just might." Seamus muttered as the two friends got back to eating their own food, wondering just how well this would all work out, or if it'd work out at all.. The two people involved, of course, were nothing if they weren't stubborn.


	5. Chapter 5

"Don't even give me that look you 3. I've told you all a million times now. I'm not gonna keep making myself look desperate, showing up where Neville is, throwing myself at him. He obviously dislikes me. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower before the damned Slytherin wenches get all the hot water." Sadie said as she worked on tying the short black silk robe tighter so nothing burst open, became indecent exposure.

"All that.. To just go shower." Brigitte asked with a raised brow as Kirby mused aloud, "Why put on makeup and your best nightie? I mean if you're giving up?" while trying not to laugh as Sadie grumbled, flipped the two of them off and said calmly, "Just because I said I'm giving up on Neville doesn't mean I'm dead totally, girls." as she tried again unsucessfully to catch and pin her long and thick curly dark hair into at least a halfway decent bun or something.

"Okay, alright, we get it. You've given up. We just don't think it's a good idea, considering we both kinda overheard the guys talking about how he likes you, he just thinks you're out to use him or something... Like other girls." Kirby said as Sadie stopped in the doorway, almost turned around and looked at them, but sighed, stiffened her posture and slunk out into the hallway.

Kirby looked at the clock and said "And right about now, Seamus and Dean should be shoving Neville into the hallway... Do we want to watch this?"

"We do, K." Brigitte said with a smirk as the two Hufflepuffs raced to the doorway that seperated the commons room from the castle corridors.

Sadie turned a corner just as Dean and Seamus shoved an unamused Neville out into the hallway, almost right in front of her. They smacked into one another, the Gryffindor's commons room door slammed shut in Neville's wake. Neville steadied Sadie who looked up at him with a raised brow, biting her full lower lip as she managed a quiet "Hi." and went to walk around him.

_'You heard her earlier, Longbottom. She had no alterior motive other than finally admitting she had a crush on you all this time.. Now she's giving up because she thinks you hate her.. Well? Are you a man or a mouse? Do something, damn it!' _his mind screamed at him as he looked down at her, finally managed to say "Ermm, hi.. Heading to the showers?"

Sadie clutched at the robe, making absolutely sure it wasn't revealing anything. _'Merlin forbid I give him any more reason to dislike me by showing my body or something.. so what if my friends tell me he actually likes me a lot. Doesn't make it true, Sadie, now does it? The fact that he's even talking to you right now means absolutely nothing.' _she reminded herself as Neville chuckled a little, asked quietly, "This late at night though? Wearing that?" as he mentally kicked himself and his mind screamed out at him practically, _'Smoothe, Longbottom. And you really wonder why none of the girls fancy you? Things like this, Longbottom. You're forever making a complete arse of yourself when you even try.'_

_'And there it is, Sadie.. He obviously thinks you're loose or something. Look at the distatste in his eyes right now. Just walk right past him and go get a shower before you do something else wrong.' _she thought to herself as she looked up at him and said calmly, quietly, "Yes, Neville. Since there is no time limit on when one takes a shower, and what they wear to sleep, I am going to take a shower.. This late at night, but no.. I won't be wearing this. Most normal people, Longbottom tend to shower nude." while licking her lips, looking up at him with hints of an amused smirk.

He groaned as he immediately tried to stop from picturing her. She bit her lower lip and then said calmly, "Is that all, Neville, or..."

"Are you mad at me or something?" he asked as she looked up at him, brow raised, confusion in her eyes before bursting into laughter. "Wow.. Okay.. You think I'm angry with you? Umm, no.. But you.. I mean you've made it quite plain how annoying I am to you. Let's just go our seperate ways now, yeah?" she asked, anger at what her friends said a few minutes before, about how he thought she was like all the other girls before, and only wanted to 'use him'.

The fact that he could even lump her in with all the other girls in their school, the ones who had used him.. Well, it hurt to say the least.

"Why on Earth would I be angry at you, anyways? Just humor me.. I mean if anything, I've obviously been annoying you. But that's stopped, Neville.. Now if you'll excuse me, a long hot shower calls my name." Sadie mumbled as he looked at her, confused.

"Damn it. She thinks she annoys me." he muttered to himself as he caught up to her, tapped her shoulder just before she went to turn the knob on one of the doors leading into the bathrooms. She turned, looked at him, her teeth grazing her lower lip. "What is it?" she asked as he said quietly, "You don't annoy me."

"Right, sure I don't." Sadie said as she looked up at him, shrugged and added quietly, "The fact that you could even lump me, who you barely know, Neville, might I add, in with the rest of the girls in this school." while shaking her head, disappointed, before ultimately mumbling, "Nothing, nevermind. I'm going to shower now." and attempting to walk away again.

"Will you give me a minute, bloody hell? It's infuriating the way you always walk away when someone's trying to say something that might just scare you a little." Neville blurted, a little bit of anger and commanding edging into his tone as he looked at her.

"Fine." Sadie said quietly, leaning in the door frame, noting just how close they seemed to be migrating to each other, just how much of an affect it seemed to be having on her currently.

Neville stumbled for words for a few moments while looking down at her, trying to quell the lump as it grew in his throat, almost cutting out his breathing completely. "What'd you mean by that?" he asked her as he looked down at her, waited patiently on an answer.

"You said it, not me, Neville. All I was doing was saying what my friends told me they heard.. That I'm only paying attention to you because I want something.. If I merely wanted something, Longbottom.. I'd have turned elsewhere." Sadie mused with a slight smirk as he looked at her a moment, shoulders stiffening. He raked his hand through his hair, torn between frustration and confusion.

Girls hadn't ever been his strong suit, and he was finding this particular girl to be the most difficult to understand one he'd met or yet to meet in his life.

"What's that mean?" Neville asked, pang of jealousy ripping through him, taking him by surprise. She shrugged and with a smirk said calmly, "It means, Neville.. If I only wanted something from you, I'd have asked, that would have been the end of my interest. I'm not into lying. I don't need an agenda to ask someone for something, or approach someone. Okay, I normally don't, but you.. Nevermind, I told myself I was done. This is about as useful as standing around in the rain bare assed naked. Either way I go, you'll think whatever you choose. Really makes even admitting anything to you a moot point now doesn't it?" she mused aloud as she held his gaze a moment, trying to ignore the way her body felt like an electrical current running through it because they now stood chest to chest, bodies brushing ever so slightly in the doorway of the bathroom, in the abandoned hallway, in the middle of the night.

The situation in itself was almost enough to make her give in to the urge to just kiss him. But she knew she had to be stronger, she was still pretty mad at what her friends told her when she'd left the commons room to come to the showers just now. She wasn't going to cave in, not when the thought of him even having the audacity to lump her in with all the other girls at Hogwarts rubbed her the wrong way completely.

No, she was going to make him see he was wrong.

Neville chuckled as she blushed a pale pink all over, stammered and rambled on nervously. This was new to him, a girl being totally and completely nervous around him and he'd chuckled before he even realized that he'd done it. She looked up at him, brow raised and said quietly, "Glad you find this whole thing amusing. I, however, do not."

"Why not?" he asked, confused. Again, he wasn't the best with girls or even beginning to try and understand their mind, why they thought the way they did.

"Because, Neville, I don't, okay? Look, I really want to get in the shower now.. Let's just leave this alone. Even if I said what I was going to say, it wouldn't matter, because you'd never believe me." Sadie explained carefully as she ducked beneath his arm, vanished into the bathroom, door swinging shut behind her.

He paced the hallway for a few moments, frustrated with himself, with whatever she was trying to tell him obviously, with the situation in general, and kicking at an urn standing nearby, he looked at the closed bathroom door, biting his lower lip.

_'You're going to keep backing down, Longbottom.. What'd you promise yourself when Lestrange escaped? No more fear, no more backing down from anything. The girl's all of 5 foot tall, tiny.. And yet she continues to intimidate you.' _he thought to himself before bursting into the bathroom.

Sadie shrieked and grabbed for her robe. She hadn't gotten undressed yet, but given Neville's notorious shyness, she hadn't expected him to keep this going either. She'd thought walking away from him would end things that he'd retreat to his dorm room like he normally did.

He coughed as he saw her hair down, wild and curly. Instead of everything he had tentatively planned to say at the moment, he said quietly, "You should leave it down more."

She groaned and palmed her face as she hissed at him, "What in the literal hell has gotten into you, Longbottom? Did you or did you not get that the conversation was over? It's best I didn't say what I wanted to.. Just trust me on this."

He studied her a moment, completely baffled. She groaned and then said quietly, " You were right.. I had an alterior motive, okay? So you can go be smug now."

He blinked and his stomach churned, and then he said quietly, "Oh."

She sighed and rolled her eyes in annoyance as she focused on brushing her hair before finally saying quietly, "But unlike you seem to think, Neville, it actually wasn't a bad one."

He turned and walked out of the bathroom, more confused about the workings of the female mind now than he'd ever thought himself being before.

He grumbled as he went back over what she said just now. What was her motive for trying to seek him out? What did he have that she apparently wanted so badly?

Sadie stepped into the shower, lightly punched at a wall. Her temper hadn't ever been a good one, she got upset and she got hurt and she hurt others like she felt hurt.Knowing he'd lumped her in with all the other girls automatically hurt her a lot. She might not admit it, but it had.

"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.. And now the Hufflepuff qualities are going to come out." she grumbled as she hurriedly finished her shower, dried off and took off down the corridor. She'd just turned the corner, found him sitting on one of the benches looking at his hands.

"What I said just now.. I was sort of angry.." she muttered quietly as she looked at him. He looked up at her and then asked quietly, "What was it? Your reason I mean.."

She sighed and said quietly, "It wasn't a bad one, I promise." as he asked again, "Well, if it wasn't a bad one, what was it?"

She bit her lower lip, staring at her red polished toe nails for a few moments. "I was just trying to get to know you, okay?" she finally said as he looked at her, brow raised. This only left him with twice as many questions as he had before now.

"Why not just tell me that?" he asked as she laughed a little and then said "Why not just let me and be okay with it? Everything doesn't have to be so damned difficult you know." as she looked up at the tall catherdal ceilings, biting her lower lip.

"Can we start over?" he asked as she smiled a little, fixed her eyes on him and said "Sure.. I mean if that's what you really want."

"I think it is." He said as he smiled a little and then asked, "I'll walk you back to the dorms." as she nodded and said quietly, a little sheepishly, "I am a little scared of this place in the dark." making him laugh and look at her with a raised brow, to which she pouted at as she asked "What? Like there aren't others who are too."


	6. Chapter 6

He chuckled a little as he watched her from his hidden spot behind a column on the outer edge of the courtyard. She was playing with some of the younger kids, it looked like a game of hide and go seek or something, and as usual, she was barefoot. It wasn't all that cold out yet, just a little cooler than normal, so she walked around a lot, barefoot..

Not that Neville noticed that or anything, not that he watched her that closely or anything..

Suddenly falling flat on his back as she rounded the corner top speed, sending them both flying to the ground, a literal tangle of arms and legs had him coughing. The scent of her perfume filled his nose and chuckling, he coughed a little then asked quietly, "Are you alright?"

Sadie eyed him a little and bit her lower lip, asked quietly, "I should be asking you that question, Longbottom, not the other way around. I'm sorry, I had no idea you were back here.. I was.." her voice trailing off as her eyes got lost in the almost glearming green of his eyes for a few moments.

The silent tension was broken by a snickering group of first year girls all wearing gold and black or maroon and gold . One of them pointed out, "Ewww.. Boys are gross, Sadie."

"They're not, Ella." Sadie said gently as she coughed, muttered quietly to Neville, "Suppose I should move, yeah?" as he nodded, moved to sit up. She sprang out of his lap and smiled at him, giving him a soft smile, a small wave as the little girls started dragging her off towards a nearby patch of wild flowers growing on the lawns. He shook his head and stood, looked around and sighed to himself.

Every since the whole shower thing the week before, they'd been friendlier towards each other, but he was still very wary of her real intentions. Even as he admitted this, he also knew that if he really tried, he'd probably never be able to just stop letting the younger female be his friend.

He leaned against a stone halfwall, watched them playing a little longer before turning and walking back into the castle, trying again to find Harry. He'd been attempting this very thing when he'd seen her out on the lawns, gotten drawn into watching her.

Sadie watched Neville walking back into the castle, sighed a little as one of the little girls from before, Ella, tugged the sleeve of her shirt and asked curiously, "Do you love him?"

Sadie smiled brightly and muttered mostly to herself, "I believe so, yes... I mean I know it's strange.. But sometimes when something's right, you know it." as Ella laughed and then said "So tell him, duh."

"It's not that simple, sweetie. Trust me.. Enjoy your childhood.. Skinned knees are always far better than broken hearts." Sadie muttered as she looked at the group of girls and said with a smile, "We should all be getting back indoors.. Looks like it's getting dark."

Once she'd seen the younger girls back to their own houses, she slipped out, wandering around the castle aimlessly. She just happened to turn a corner and again, they smacked directly into one another. She looked up at him with a mischevious smile as she shook her head, giggling and said casually, "We've got to stop meeting like this, Longbottom."

"We do." Neville managed to say as the advice of Seamus and Dean, even Harry, from earlier rang heavily in his mind. They all seemed to think that maybe he should at least attempt to tell her or something, how he felt. And he wasn't sure if he should, because as previously stated, he was nothing if not wary of her.. After all, girls like her only went for the Rons and Harrys or Cedrics and Malfoys of Hogwarts.

"Ya know, Neville.. If I didn't know any better, I'd take this as a sign. But I've been wrong a load of times." Sadie joked as he blushed and looked down at her, an unexplainable expression crossing his face a moment, his hand swooping out, trailing through her hair. "You.. Umm, you had a leaf." he said as he held the leaf up. She shrugged and then smiled as she said "A little dirt never hurt anyone. Give me.. I sort of collect them.. When they're changing colors, they're the prettiest." Sadie admitted sheepishly as she looked up at him.

"Ever been to the Black Lake at night, Neville?" she asked casually, as he looked at her, shook his head firmly and said quietly, "You shouldn't go either, Sadie.. Umbridge.."

"Can kiss my arse. It's pretty, the moon shines off the water, casts a sort of pale glow all over everything.. And the stars, they twinkle.." Sadie said as she reached up, trailed her thumb across a dirt smudge on his cheek before coughing and muttering "You had a little dirt on your face.."

He blushed and she looked at him a few moments longer then said quietly, "I should get going.. But if you want to find me, Neville.. You know where to look." as she smiled at him, skipped away down the hallway.

Neville stood there, hand in his hair trying to figure out if what he thought just happened actually had happened. Had she really just invited him to meet her by the Black Lake? And if she had.. Should he show up?

Walking down the hallway, he caught up to her quickly, tapped her shoulder and waited on her to turn around. Sadie felt a tap to her shoulder and turned around, smiled a little when she realized he'd caught up to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she looked up at him, her head tilted to one side in curiousity. He took a few deep breaths and then asked quietly, "Back there.."

"Is what most girls call a hint, Neville.. Whether you take it or not is strictly up to you. Not forcing you to do anything. I will say this, however.. If I didn't want you around, I wouldn't keep bumping into you. And like I said before.. I do have an alterior motive, Neville.. But it's not a bad one like I can almost stake my life on you thinking it is. And maybe, Neville, if you really want to know what my motives are.. You'll meet me outside?" Sadie said quietly as she looked up at him, genuinely amused by the confused expression on his face.

But if she were going to do this, show him that to her he mattered, he'd always matter, he'd always be HER hero, the rest of Hogwarts could clearly have the Trio.. Then she was going to do this** right**.

He needed someone to take care of him. Or she thought so at least..

She bit her lower lip as he looked at her, a little wary. She managed a smile, then said quietly, "Going to go now, Neville." before turning to walk down the hallway.

Neville stood there a few moments with his hand in his hair, watching her skip/walk away. For a few moments, he pondered over whether he should go or not, and he wandered back into the Gryffindor commons room, slightly confused look on his face.

"Wot?" Seamus asked as Dean looked at Neville intently. Neville finally looked up from the fire in the fireplace when both of them snapped their fingers to get his attention. And then he explained what'd just happened in the hallway, ending with a dry laugh and then him mumbling, "She does that on purpose, I think."

"Drives ya crazy too." Seamus chuckled as Dean added "Go or you're chicken, mate."

"And what if she wants me to sneak out of here, so she can embarass me?" Neville asked as Seamus chuckled and shook his head, shoving him towards the door. "Then ya can be mad at us all ya want, lad." Seamus insisted as he glared and found the portrait shut in his face.

He grumbled a little and hurriedly made his way down the hallway and out onto the lawns, eyes watchful, waiting on a crowd to pop up, make this all embarassing.

Instead, he found her, sitting by the Black Lake, arms around her knees, looking up at the sky, watching the sun go down and the moon creep higher and higher into the sky. For a few moments he pondered going back indoors, figured there had to be a catch to this, but then he muttered "Just go over." and walked over, sat down beside her, looking out at the water.

Sadie was watching the moon raise up in the sky, the stars coming out when she saw and heard him flop down beside her. "Didn't think you'd come out here." she muttered quietly as he shrugged and said "Me either." while looking at his hands, not sure what to say next.

"It's my favorite time of day.. Or night.." Sadie muttered, her nerve quickly abandoning her now that he'd done what she'd figured he wouldn't do and shown up. She turned to face him partially, looked at him a few moments and said "Suppose I owe you an explanation now, yes?"

"You did say you'd tell me your intentions in being my friend." Neville said quietly as he added quickly, "But if you don't want to, you don't.."

"Neville, just shhhh.. Don't say anything. I'm going to do something.. First, you've got to close your eyes.." Sadie muttered as she leaned in, waiting on his eyes to close. "What are you going to do?" he asked as he smelled her perfume closer than she had been a few seconds before. He wanted to peek through an eye, but he didn't do it because he figured that he'd do it and she'd either get angry and leave, or he'd see a bunch of laughing other students.

Her lips brushed against his lips clumsily and he couldn't help his eyes popping open in complete and total shock. A quick look around showed that nobody was out on the lawns, this wasn't some strange joke. She gasped a little in surprise herself when he actually started to kiss her back, his hand resting across the back of her neck, tangled in her thick and curly dark hair.

They pulled back from the kiss and she blushed like crazy and then looked at him a few moments, trying to gauge his current mood. He stammered a few moments and she sighed as she said quietly, "And I just completely messed up.." and went to stand.

"You can't just do that, Sadie." Neville said as he looked up at her, grabbed hold of her hand, pulled her back down onto the grass.

"You didn't like it?" she asked quietly, looking at the water. He looked at her and then muttered "No.. I.. I liked it.. Just wasn't expecting it, bloody hell.. This usually happens to everyone else.."

Sadie shrugged and then said quietly, "I didn't mean to come on so strong, I just.. I know how we argue or wind up arguing when I try and tell you something.. I've almost said something so many times, but then I'd back out or we'd argue.."

"Why did you do that?" Neville asked as he added quickly, "I mean out of curiousity. I liked it.. I just.." looking at her, waiting on an answer. She laughed a little, shaking her head as she looked over at him and said quietly, "Maybe because I was sick of holding back, yet I was too afraid to just say I liked you?"

He blinked as he looked at her and then asked "Like how.."

"Well, you don't see me kissing my friends like that, do you?" she asked as she looked at him, her brow raised, an amused smirk on her face as he chuckled and then said "I hope not." as he mentally went back over this entire thing in his mind. "We should get back inside." he muttered finally as he stood, pulled her up. She nodded and said quietly, "So.. Do you get it now? I don't just like you as a friend."

"I get it.. Not sure what the bloody hell you see in me, but I get it." he muttered as they walked back into the castle, lingering between their dorms for a moment, just looking at each other. She raised to tiptoe, smiled softly as her lips brushed his cheek and she said quietly, "Goodnight, Neville."

"Goodnight, Sadie." he muttered as he watched her skipping back in the general direction of her own dormitory. He quickly stepped into the Gryffindor commons room and sank down onto the couch, watching the fire, the shock still in the process of wearing off as he grinned to himself.

"Well?" Seamus asked from the chair behind the sofa Neville sat on, making him jump as Harry chimed in, "How did it go?" mostly concerned for his friend.

"It went good.. She kissed me.. I think she likes me.." Neville muttered as Seamus groaned and walked over, smacking him in the forehead. "Lad.. Do ya have ta be thrown in front o' a bloody train? if she kissed ya, she likes ya." Seamus said as Harry added "We should all get some rest.. Tomorrow's another day with that wench, Umbridge."

"It is." Neville nodded, the three of them walking into their dorm rooms. He lie there a little while, trying to figure out how to proceed next. He literally had no idea what to do, but he did know that he liked her a lot, and he wasn't going to just throw an opportunity like this one away, because good things so very rarely happened to him.


End file.
